Here I am finally with some recipes that I made for my 50th birthday Buffet celebrated with colleagues in the office. Let’s start with the savory Danube 50. My colleagues were amazed after seeing the buffet, but the Danube was the true star of the table. In the coming days, I will publish all the recipes. In reality, for me, preparing the Danube in the shape of 50 was a way to give a personalized touch to the table since it was not a real party and I will tell you I really succeeded. But let’s see together how to prepare it in the following recipe.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 32
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- egg + yolk
- 0.42 oz fresh brewer's yeast
- 1.35 cups milk
- 0.27 cups olive oil
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 0.53 oz salt
- 7 oz cooked ham
- 7 oz mild provola cheese
- 1 egg
- as needed sesame seeds
Tools
- 1 Stand mixer
Steps
Start the preparation of the savory Danube 50 by warming the milk and dissolving the yeast, salt, and sugar in it. There are different schools of thought about putting salt and yeast together, I personally have always done it with great results, but if you’re used to not mixing these two ingredients, feel free to continue. Now pour the flour into the stand mixer (or a bowl), gradually add the milk, and start kneading, add an egg and the yolk, and finally the oil gradually, remember to use the dough hooks. After about 5 minutes when the flour is completely mixed, finish kneading with your hands energetically for a few minutes, put the dough in a bowl, cover it, and let it rest for at least 2-3 hours in a dry place (ideally in the turned-off oven). In the meantime, cut the provola and ham into cubes. After the indicated time, the dough will have doubled in volume, so divide it into 32 balls that have approximately the same weight, mine weighed 25-28g. To be sure of the weight of the balls, I recommend weighing the dough and dividing it by 32 to get the precise weight for each ball.
At this point, start filling the balls with a piece of ham and a piece of provola. Then start arranging the balls to form a 5 and a 0.
To help you, place the parchment paper directly on a baking sheet and arrange the balls directly next to each other so that they join together during baking. I also used a round bowl to give a nice shape to the 5. Once you have made your 50, cover it and let it rest in a dry place for another 30 minutes.
Then brush with beaten egg and decorate with sesame seeds. Then bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 30-40 minutes, until the savory Danube 50 has a golden color. At this point, your Danube will be ready to be served with your buffet, and I assure you it will be a great success because it will be the star of the table.
If you liked this recipe, also take a look at my other variants, Star Danube, Dove, Christmas, Sweet…etc. HERE
Saby suggests…
With this dough, you can create any shape or number. I just recommend making a small scheme/drawing before filling the balls to see how many you need for the shape you have in mind.
